The Stranger
The Grand Illusion Cinema will hold its second annual fundraiser tomorrow evening to support the volunteer-run theater residing in the University District. Last year’s sold-out event saved the cinema from nearly closing its doors. Open since 1968, the Grand Illusion Cinema has specialized in showing classic, cult and art house films to a diverse crowd. Tomorrow there will be screenings of the Hitchcock classic Rear Window at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm. Each showing will be preceded by a reception with drinks and light hors d’oeuvres. Attendees can also bid on silent auction items or enter a raffle for prizes donated by SIFF, Criterion Collection, Scarecrow Video, Seattle Sounders FC, and more.

One Thirty BPM
City Council in Aberdeen, Washington, had an atypical decision to make this week. Efforts to name a bridge where late Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain could be found sleeping in the height of his glory days were squashed; the council voted 10-1 against the proposal. Although titling the initial landmark was vetoed, his legacy still made the cut elsewhere in his small hometown. A petite patch of land in the Wishkah River, a location that inspired the title From The Muddy Banks Of Wishkah, is now named after the famed and troubled talent. Die-hard fans rejoice!

The Seattle Times
Following the news that the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a proposal to apply to the Washington State Liquor Board for extended bar hours, The Seattle Times writer Nicole Brodeur contemplated the pros and cons of this potential change in her latest column. Her biggest concerns? Patrons continuing to drink and bar crawl through the extended hours created, disrupting neighborhoods already impacted by high pedestrian traffic from nightlife businesses. But talking with nightclub owner Marcus Lalario, who also sits on the Seattle Music Commission, Brodeur puts forth the benefits that can occur from extending nightlife hours in Seattle. In addition to the possible $3 million extra revenue, it will ensure that people are more easily able to catch cabs, give restaurants the choice to extend their hours too for more nighttime business, and draw more tourists to the city. Also included in Brodeur’s column is a conversation with the Downtown Seattle Association’s Jon Schole and a study done by the Responsible Hospitality Institute that examines how Seattle would react to a pilot program of extended bar hours.

Who doesn’t love Christmas? And honestly, who doesn’t love a good Christmas flick? In Ira Finkelstien’s Christmas, a Christmas-infatuated Jewish boy plots a strategic conspiracy that will bring him close to all the holiday festivities he aches after from afar. Local director Sue Corocan, vice-president of Seattle’s Women in Film (WIF), brings us this charming and comical feature-film about a boy whose perseverance and drive to experience Christmas never die. Much of the film is currently being shot in our very own backyard, as well as in nearby Leavenworth, Washington. Check out the trailer and expect to see familiar sites in full length film.

New Classical Music Apps
Commercial radio used to be the almighty power in providing free music for people. However, with the rise of the smart-phone empire, radiohas slowly begun to transform in appearance, mostly wearing the cloak of mobile applications. There are several new FREE iPhone apps such as Classical Music I: Master’s Collection Vol. 1 (a limited edition) and Classical Music Radio(free on Apple and Android). For the classical music inclined, these new-wave “radio stations” offer carefully curated playlists flowering with popular performances. Genre-specific apps like these keep listeners’ ears hip to the genres they love most, and best of all, they don’t cost a dime.

SPIN
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since Nirvana’s seminal album Nevermind was released, forever changing our musical landscape. The August issue of SPIN is a big love letter to Nevermind and gives a lengthy retrospective of how the album and the band affected both musicians and popular culture alike. It even explains Nirvana’s influence on the rap scene. Included online is a free download of a Nirvana tribute album curated by SPIN titled Newermind. It features covers from some of Kurt Cobains personal heroes like the Meat Puppets and the Vaselines, along with newer artists such as Titus Andronicus, Surfer Blood, Amanda Palmer, Seattle’s own Telekinesis, and many more.

SSG Music
Monday was a day of rest and recovery after the exhilarating mayhem of the Capitol Hill Block Party (CHBP), but the Seattle music scene never wants to take too long of a hiatus from its faithful listeners. No rest for the weary–local band and CHBP main stage performers Fences take the spotlight again at the Ballard Sonic Boom Records. To keep your ears sharp with local sound, show up before 6pm this evening and soak up some melancholic pop melodies in a more intimate setting.